I swallowed. My eyes narrowed at the man who had named that price. So, the winner is already visible, huh.
I shifted my gaze to the pig-masked person. He lowered his gaze further. His teeth ground together, fists clenched, veins standing out at his temples. A sheen of sweat gathered along his brow. He looked like a man cornered by defeat.
The orca mask glanced at him once. His face remained unreadable—neither mocking nor amused—before his gaze returned forward.
He exhaled softly, a faint smile touching his lips. "It's been a while since I've enjoyed a place like this."
The person next to him—the pig mask, could only bite the tip of his lip, releasing his grip while scoffing loudly, then went to the back and disappeared among the shadows of the room that fell obliquely.
The MC in front who had been frozen for a moment because of the price he heard, began to realize. His eyes seemed to blink a few times, before continuing his event.
"Ah... Sorry gentlemen and ladies. I was just—." His gaze looked up again.
The MC's eyes widened. The instigator—the bidder "001"—was no longer in his seat.
Some of the nobles in front of him also fainted and some had already gone home. It seemed they thought that the event was over, when there was nothing else to see.
I let out a short sigh. My gaze sharpened. "Whether it's the old world or the new world, it's all the same. No matter how interesting the person hosting the event is, if their purpose is lost, they will always leave." I looked at the MC in front of me with pity. My lips twitched. "Be patient, sir..."
The MC stroked the back of his neck. His gaze and smile seemed a little strange, as if his inner self could say, "Why do I feel like someone is pitying me?"
"Ahaha..." He corrected his smile and his position back properly, trying to be professional. He let out a short sigh. "Alright, gentlemen and ladies who are left! It seems, because there is no one else trying to bid higher, which means the winner of our special slave seems to have been determined!"
The MC's hand stretched out, pointing to the place of the person who won me "002". The spotlight returned to illuminate, following the direction of his hand. "That is none other than from bidder "002" with a bid price that reached... 1000 Gold!"
After the delivery of the winner of the last slave offer, namely me—the MC began to enter the closing session. In that session he only conveyed a few words of delivery, thanks, and ended this slave auction event by saying, "See you next year!"
The remaining people in the audience who heard it, without further ado immediately left the room. The person who had won the auction for me, looked at me from a distance, narrowed his eyes, before finally standing up and turning to leave the room with the person next to him. Some of the nobles who had fainted earlier, were awakened by the guards there when the large door wanted to be closed again.
Several times I saw the guards go back and forth, checking, afraid that there were people left there. After it was confirmed that no one was left behind, they nodded, once, then pushed the big door slowly.
BAMM!
A gust followed the closing door, sweeping my hair back for a brief second.
The wind is so strong. Even though it was only closed slowly earlier.
My gaze shifted to the MC who was in front afterwards. There was something that caught my attention, making me shift my gaze earlier. Namely, he now seemed to want to open his fox mask.
"..."
I'm curious, what his face looks like.
The MC's fingers began to touch his mask. He pulled it up, slowly, before finally his whole face was visible.
I saw him.
"..."
My eyes widened. What?!
It turned out that the person I had been praising and pitying all this time was him, the person who had once acted powerful in the slave cage yesterday.
Now his eyes were slightly down, looking at the fox mask he was wearing. For a few moments his gaze was locked, then he let out a long sigh, before finally turning around, and seeing me who was watching him.
One of his eyebrows rose, his head tilted slightly. "Ha? Why are you looking at me like that, Lowly Slave?" His voice was so demeaning.
I narrowed my eyes, not answering him. It really is him...
He scratched his head that didn't itch, staring at me for a long time in surprise. Until finally he gave up.
"Haish..." He turned away. "How unclear."
Not long after, from behind the darkness where I was earlier came—there were two people who were like the guards at that time, coming closer to us without hurrying.
Their steps hit the wood. Each step made the board creak loudly, curving as if unable to bear the burden.
I also felt it, the vibration spread to my feet. Until the sound stopped, when they were behind us.
I swallowed my saliva, a little nervous, because there was a strong pressure from behind. Their breath that was still coming in and out through the tight black masks, made me a little afraid to look at them directly.
"Ugh..."
I saw the person in front of me. He now seemed to look up, staring sharply at the people behind us. He seemed a little angry with those two people.
His head tilted slightly, both of his eyebrows touching each other. "Oi you two!"
Their large bodies tensed up, looking like people who were storing fear.
"Why are you still here, Ha?!"
Hearing that, they both immediately looked at each other, tilting their heads, while changing their gaze back to their boss.
Seeing the response of his two subordinates like that, the veins in his head immediately protruded, tightly. The grinding of his teeth slowly sounded loud. He gripped the fox mask tightly. Cracks spread across its surface—then it split in two.
ii
His gaze was slightly down. "You guys..." his voice sounded muffled, as if holding something back from coming out.
He stared straight at his subordinates behind him, his gaze so piercing that I could feel it.
His molars pressed so hard. His voice sounded broken. "Q-qui... ck... ly... ta... ke... th... em... a... way...!"
The emotion expressed from each of his words sounded so clear. The bodies of his two subordinates seemed to respond to it by tensing up again, maybe even tighter than before. Their hands immediately rose simultaneously, and gave the same answer, positioning their hands—precisely their index fingers near the tip of their eyebrows, as a substitute for the sentence, "We understand!".
Not long after that, they took their respective positions. One was right at the very front, facing left, and the other was right behind me, facing in the same direction. We who saw it also understood, that we would not go in the same direction as when we first entered this room.
Slowly we began to change course, heading in the same direction as them.
The breath from them still made me uncomfortable, especially the person behind me. The exhalation of his breath, directed straight at the back of my neck.
My body trembled slightly. My eyes narrowed. "Ugh..."
Can't they just breathe normally? It's giving me goosebumps.
Not long after that, finally the steps of the person at the very front began to move. Some people after that also began to step. The chains on my hands that were initially stretched, tightened, then gave a surge of pull—making my steps forced to move.
Our steps stepped back on the wooden floor. The creaking sound sounded louder than before. The chains that bound our necks and hands began to make a distinctive sound. Like, "Kring! Kring! Kring!" Structurally, every step we moved.
I looked around carefully for the last time. The scenery that was lively earlier, already felt deserted. The spotlights that illuminated everywhere, began to be turned off one by one.
Until before I knew it, a dark tunnel began to welcome me. The shadows of the room fell obliquely, making them lengthen on the wooden floor. In the middle of my steps before entering that room, I remembered something.
My eyes widened. Uncle?
I looked back.
I tried to look for him, the guard's body behind me blocked my view.
I tried to jump, looking for a gap, but all in vain.
I can't reach. He's so tall.
Finally I gave up my intention. My gaze returned to the front with my head bowed, then I let out a short sigh. If asked if I was disappointed, of course I was disappointed. Because I couldn't see Uncle for the last time, before I left this place.
Finally the shadows in front of us, began to drown me along with the others in them.
Inside that room, I could only see endless darkness. There was nothing special, other than the loud sound of chains colliding with each other. That's what I thought at that time. Yes, that's what I thought at that time before I saw it.
My eyes widened, staring straight ahead.
"..."
There's light?
In front of me stretched a large tunnel. From above, oblique light seeped in—much brighter than the spotlights before.
I don't know why, but that light felt familiar. As if I had stood under it... I don't know when.
"I didn't expect this dark tunnel to have an end," I muttered.
Before I knew it, our steps began to get closer to the tunnel in front. Every inch our steps moved, made my heart beat fast.
My hand pressed my chest. What is this?
The light in front of me began to pierce my face, making me cover it with my elbow.
At first I didn't understand why I could become like this. Before finally I came out of that dark tunnel, and felt it directly.
I removed my hand from my face. The light that had been piercing my eyes, began to decrease as time went on. Slowly I blinked my eyes, a few times, before finally daring to open my eyes completely, and see it clearly.
My eyes widened, a small grin appeared afterwards. "Ah... No wonder it's familiar."
Beyond the bright light was a vast space, filled with movement and life—just like the sounds I had heard, and the scenes I had glimpsed from behind the slave cage.